Biden envoy told Netanyahu his comments about US-supplied weapons were ‘unproductive’ and ‘completely untrue’
CNN
US envoy Amos Hochstein told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a meeting on Tuesday in Israel that his public comments this week that the US is “withholding weapons and ammunitions to Israel” were “unproductive” and “more importantly, completely untrue,” a senior US official told CNN.
US envoy Amos Hochstein told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a meeting on Tuesday in Israel that his public comments this week that the US is “withholding weapons and ammunitions to Israel” were “unproductive” and “more importantly, completely untrue,” a senior US official told CNN. US Ambassador to Israel Jack Lew also reiterated to Netanyahu that his comments were incorrect, walking through all of the arms the US has transferred to Israel in recent months, according to the official. A spokesperson for the US Embassy in Israel confirmed that Lew spoke with Netanyahu on Tuesday. The spokesperson reiterated that “with the exception of a ongoing discussion regarding large diameter munitions, other items are either delivered or in the process of being delivered, or in the normal review process.” Axios first reported on the exchange between Hochstein and Netanyahu. The meeting reflected the administration’s mounting frustration with the Israeli leader’s comments. Another senior administration official told CNN that the public statement from the Israeli prime minister was “perplexing” and “wrong.” This is not the first time Netanyahu has publicly lambasted the Biden administration in the course of the Israel-Hamas war, but this week’s public dispute comes as the stakes around the war in Gaza and a potential further conflict between Israel and Hezbollah remain incredibly high. Both the Israeli prime minister and the President Joe Biden are facing growing political pressure at home over their handling of the war. Hochstein’s comments to Netanyahu weren’t the first time US officials have pushed back in private against public comments made by Netanyahu, but some US officials would like the Biden administration to go further, an administration official said.
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